Beyond Vision: A View from Eye to Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia.

With the aging of the global population, the health care burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia is considered to increase dramatically in the coming decades. Given the insufficiency of effective interventions for AD and dementia, clinical research on identifying potentially modifiable risk factors and early diagnostic biomarkers becomes a public health priority. Currently, extracerebral manifestations with a large proportion of ocular involvement are usually recognized to precede the symptoms of AD and dementia. Growing epidemiologic evidence also suggests that eye disorders, such as cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and so on, are closely associated with and even have a higher incidence of AD and dementia. The eye, as an extension of the central nervous system, therefore has the potential to provide a feasible approach to detecting structural and functional abnormalities of the brain. Numerous new imaging modalities are developed and give novel insights into the detection of several neurodegenerative, vascular, neuropathological, and other ocular abnormalities of AD and dementia in scientific research and clinical application. This review provides an overview of the epidemiologic associations between eye disorders and AD or dementia and summarizes the recent advances in ocular examinations and techniques employed for the detection of AD and dementia. With more brain-and-eye interconnections being identified, the eye is becoming a noninvasive and easily accessible window for the early diagnosis and prevention of AD and dementia.

[Efficacy and safety analysis of an improved overlength biliary stent in the treatment of biliary stricture].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of an improved overlength biliary stent in the treatment of bile duct stricture. Methods: Prospective randomized controlled study. Patients with bile duct stricture in Peking University International Hospital from February 2016 to June 2021 were randomly divided into the conventional plastic biliary stents (CPBS) group and the improved overlength biliary stents (IOBS) group by envelope random method. CPBS or IOBS were placed after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) breast catheterization was successfully conducted and the stenosis length was determined by angiography. The incidence of postoperative complications, median patency time of postoperative stent and reoperation rate within 6 months were compared between the two groups, Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the survival curve, and log-rank test was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IOBS in the treatment of bile duct stricture. Results: A total of 90 patients were included. There were 45 patients in IOBS group, including 28 males and 17 females, aged (67.2±11.7) years. There were 45 patients in CPBS group, including 26 males and 19 females, aged (64.6±14.4) years. The patients in the both groups were balanced and comparable. There were no significant differences in success rate of operation, operation time, hospitalization time, operation cost and prospective complication rate between the two groups (all P>0.05). There were no significant differences in the changes of liver function index before and 72 hours after operation between the two groups (both P>0.05). The median patency time of stents in IOBS group was longer than that in CPBS group [M(Q1, Q3), 201(155,246) vs 109(55,167) d, P=0.002].The IOBS group had lower reoperation rate than the CPBS group within 6 months [46.2% (18/39) vs 78.9%(30/38), P=0.003]. Conclusion: IOBS has good safety in the treatment of bile duct stricture and the clinical efficacy is superior to CPBS.

Improved reverse Monte Carlo analysis of optical property of Fe and Ni from reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy spectra.

The energy loss functions (ELFs) of Fe and Ni have been derived from measured reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) spectra by a reverse Monte Carlo analysis in our previous work. In this work, we present further improvements of ELFs for these metals. For Fe, we have updated ELFs at primary electron energies of 2 keV and 3 keV in a wider photon energy region (0-180 eV) with a better accuracy, which is verified by sum rules. Regarding to Ni, we supplement the ELF at primary energy of 5 keV and we also improve the data accuracy at 3 keV. Applying these new and more accurate ELFs we present the optical constants and dielectric functions for the two metals. The improvements were highlighted by comparing our present results with the previous data.

[Establishment of induced pluripotent stem cell model of Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome mutated in TREX1].

To establish and identify induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from patients with Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) with TREX1 gene 667G>A mutation, and obtain a specific induced pluripotent stem cell model for Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS-iPSCs). A 3-year-old male child with Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome was admitted to Zhongshan People's Hospital in December 2020. After obtaining the informed consent of the patient's family members, 5 ml peripheral blood samples from the patient were collected, and mononuclear cells were isolated. Then,the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) were transduced with OCT3/4, SOX2, c-Myc and Klf4 by using Sendai virus, and PBMCs were reprogrammed into iPSCs. The pluripotency and differentiation ability of the cells were identified by cellular morphological analysis, real-time PCR, alkaline phosphatase staining (AP), immunofluorescence, teratoma formation experiments in mice. The results showed that the induced pluripotent stem cell line of Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome was successfully constructed and showed typical embryonic stem-like morphology after stable passage, RT-PCR showed mRNA expression of stem cell markers, AP staining was positive, OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, SSEA4, TRA-1-81 and TRA-1-60 pluripotency marker proteins were strongly expressed. In vivo teratoma formation experiments showed that iPSCs differentiate into the ectoderm (neural tube like tissue), mesoderm (vascular wall tissue) and endoderm (glandular tissue). Karyotype analysis also confirmed that iPSCs still maintained the original karyotype (46, XY). In conclusion, induced pluripotent stem cell line for Aicardi-Goutières syndrome was successfully established using Sendai virus, which provided an important model platform for studying the pathogenesis of the disease and for drug screening.

The choice of spectral similarity algorithms influences suspected soil sample provenance.

Similarity algorithms are commonly used in soil forensic applications to help identify similar samples from an existing reference library as possible source locations of unknown target samples. These algorithms are well-suited to compare soil spectra. However, different similarity algorithms may lead to different clusters of similar samples, and thus different strengths of evidence in forensic investigations. To quantify this, we conducted a study to evaluate the influence of seven similarity algorithms on soil provenance, using as a sample set a soil spectral library consisting of 280 soil profiles from Anhui Province, China. This library includes three spatial scales of datasets: provincial (DSp), county (DSc) and field (DSf). A set of ten samples covering a wide range of spectra variations were selected from the DSf dataset as the "unknown" samples, with the remaining being used as the reference samples. This study aimed to: (1) evaluate how several commonly-used similarity algorithms, namely Euclidean distance (ED), Mahalanobis distance (MD), Spectral angle mapper (SAM), and Spectral information divergence (SID), as well as variants of several of these measured in standardized principal component space computed from the spectra (ED_PCA, MD_PCA and SAM_PCA), influence the identification of the matched similar samples; (2) determine the overlap in sample selection between different similarity algorithms; (3) propose best practices for similarity algorithms applied to soil forensic analysis using spectroscopy. The use of different similarity algorithms did influence the selection of most similar samples. The similarity algorithms calculated in PC space (ED_PCA, MD_PCA and SAM_PCA) performed slightly better than their counterparts calculated in spectral space. Due to the availability of a detailed spectral library, regardless of the different similarity algorithms used, the matched most similar samples were all located close to the unknowns, mostly within 3 km, with one exception. That is, the varied choices of different similarity algorithms hardly influenced the conclusion of soil provenance in this case. In general, MD_PCA, SAM and ED were the best similarity algorithms overall. However, since there was no single best algorithms for all cases, we recommend the joint use of MD_PCA, SAM and ED as an ensemble. Indications of possible sample provenance from these similarity measured can be useful evidence to complement evidence from other methods in a forensic investigation.

Energy loss function of samarium.

We present a combined experimental and theoretical work to obtain the energy loss function (ELF) or the excitation spectrum of samarium in the energy loss range between 3 and 200 eV. At low loss energies, the plasmon excitation is clearly identified and the surface and bulk contributions are distinguished. For the precise analysis the frequency-dependent energy loss function and the related optical constants (n and k) of samarium were extracted from the measured reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) spectra by the reverse Monte Carlo method. The ps- and f-sum rules with final ELF fulfils the nominal values with 0.2% and 2.5% accuracy, respectively. It was found that a bulk mode locates at 14.2 eV with the peak width ~6 eV and the corresponding broaden surface plasmon mode locates at energies of 5-11 eV.

Rayleigh-Taylor instability in magnetohydrodynamics with finite resistivity in a horizontal magnetic field.

Recent studies have revealed the significant influence of finite resistivity on high-energy-density plasmas, contrary to the previous findings of Jukes [J. Fluid Mech. 16, 177 (1963)0022-112010.1017/S0022112063000677]. This paper reexamines Jukes' theory in the context of magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability in magnetohydrodynamics with finite resistivity represented by η. The inadequacy of Jukes' approach due to an erroneous boundary condition is demonstrated, and it is shown that although the theory provides some physical insights, it fails to capture crucial features. The dispersion relation proposed in this study highlights that larger growth rates tend to diffuse the magnetic field rapidly, negating its suppressive effect. Moreover, the Atwood number has a significant influence on the growth-rate curves' shape, which differs from those of viscous or elastic flows and ideal magnetohydrodynamics. Additionally, long wavelengths grow proportionally to η^{1/3}, while α indicating growth rates behaves classically when the magnetic field is entirely diffused.

[Pediatric pancreatic lesions: a clinicopathological analysis of 42 cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of pancreatic lesions in children. Methods: The clinicopathological data of pancreatic lesions in children were analyzed including 42 cases of pancreatic tumors diagnosed from January 2000 to May 2021 in Guangzhou Women's and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou, China. Histological and immunohistochemical assessments were performed. Related literature was reviewed. Results: The 42 pediatric patients with pancreatic lesions aged 1 day to 12 years (mean, 4.25 years). There were 23 males and 19 females. Clinical presentations included abdominal masses, abdominal pain, vomiting and persistent hypoglycemia after birth. Ultrasound and computerized tomography examination showed space-occupying pancreatic lesions in 31 cases, but no detectable pancreatic lesions in 11 cases. Histologically, among the 42 cases, 22 cases (52.4%) were neoplastic, including 18 cases of epithelial origin. Nine cases of pancreatoblastoma showed that the epithelial tumor cells were arranged in a trabecular pattern, with squamous nests. Six cases of solid-pseudopapillary tumors revealed hemorrhagic and necrotic cysts and monomorphic epithelioid cells arranged in solid sheets, nests or pseudopapillae. Two cases of neuroendocrine tumors showed tumor cells arranged in cords or nests; one case had a mitotic count of about 3/10 high power field, and a Ki-67 index of about 5%, which was consistent with G2 neuroendocrine tumor; the other case showed tumor cells with cytological atypia, brisk mitoses, about 25/10 HPF and a Ki-67 index of about 80%, consistent with small-cell type neuroendocrine carcinoma. The case of acinar cell carcinoma showed high cellularity, tumor cells in solid, cord-like or acinar-like arrangement with little stroma, and monotonous tumor cells with single distinct nucleolus. There were 4 cases of mesenchymal tumors, including 3 cases of Kaposi's hemangioendothelioma and 1 case of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. Among the 20 cases (47.6%) of non-neoplastic lesions, there were 11 cases of hyperinsulinism with ATP-sensitive potassium channel abnormality (HAPCA). Severn cases of diffuse type HAPCA in which the islets scattered between the pancreatic acinar tissue, enlarged, and prominent nuclei. Three cases of focal type HAPCA showed pancreatic islet hyperplasia in the form of nested nodules (0.6-1.5 cm). One case of atypical type HAPCA had extensive islet hyperplasia in pancreatic tissue, and scattered proliferation of nest-like nodules was noted. There were also 7 cases of pseudocyst and 2 cases of congenital cyst. Immunohistochemically, pancreatoblastomas were diffusely positive for CKpan, CK8/18, and ß-catenin (nuclear staining of squamous nests only). Solid-pseudopapillary tumors expressed CD10, cyclin D1, CD99, vimentin, CD56, and ß-catenin (nuclear staining). Neuroendocrine tumors were positive for CK, Syn, NSE, CgA, CD56, and ß-catenin (membranous staining). The acinar cell carcinoma was positive for CK8/18, trypsin, and ß-catenin (membranous staining). Conclusions: Pancreatic lesions in children have a wide range of histopathological types. HAPCA is the most common lesion of newborns. Pediatric pancreatic tumors are rare and mostly malignant. It is important to recognize them and make correct pathological diagnoses.

[Clinical analysis of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia in 9 cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinical features, treatment and prognosis of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia. Methods: Nine patients with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia diagnosed in Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital from January 2014 to December 2020 were enrolled and followed up. The data of clinically proven chronic eosinophilic pneumonia were reviewed. Results: The 9 cases included one male and eight females, aged from 16 to 71 years (median 47 years). Among them, 5 cases were complicated with asthma, 1 case was complicated with allergic rhinitis, and 1 case had an allergic history of pollen. All the patients had cough, expectoration, chest tightness and wheezing, and a few had fatigue (3/9), fever (1/9) and chest pain (1/9). Single or multiple patchy high-density shadows (9/9), mediastinal lymphadenopathy (7/9), air bronchogram (2/9), and reticular shadow (1/9) were observed in chest CT. Peripheral eosinophils (EOS) and serum total IgE increased to varying degrees in the 9 patients. Meanwhile, the bronchoscopy of 5 cases showed elevated percentage of eosinophils in alveolar lavage fluid, and the lung biopsy of remaining 4 cases showed EOS infiltration in lung alveolar and interstitium. After receiving glucocorticoid therapy for 0.5 to 1 month, the clinical symptoms of all 9 patients had been improved and lung lesions on CT scans had been obviously absorbed. Four cases relapsed during follow-up. Conclusions: For patients especially women who have a history of allergy, elevated blood eosinophils and serum total IgE with pulmonary high-density shadow or consolidation, chronic eosinophilic pneumonia should be considered, and bronchoscopy or percutaneous lung biopsy is indicated for a definite diagnosis. Glucocorticoid therapy is effective, but the rate of recurrence is high.

Predicting survival and immune microenvironment in colorectal cancer: a STAT signaling-related signature.

BACKGROUND: Despite research advances, studies on predictive models of colorectal cancer (CRC) remain scarce and none have evaluated signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling. AIM: To develop an effective prognostic signature for and evaluate its association with immune microenvironment. DESIGN: Comprehensive analysis based on The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases with experimental validation. METHODS: Gene expression and clinical profiles of CRC patients were extracted from the databases. Differentially expressed genes with prognostic values were used to construct a signature. Immune cell infiltration and composition were further evaluated by TIMER, single-sample gene set enrichment and CIBERSORT analyses. The impact of the hub gene Caveolin-1 (CAV1) on cell proliferation, apoptosis, senescence and tumor angiogenesis was experimentally validated. RESULTS: The five-gene-based STAT signaling-related prognostic signature was significantly associated with CRC survival, and the nomogram was with improved prognostic efficacy than the conventional TNM stage. The STAT signaling-related signature was correlated with tumor immune microenvironment. CAV1 was further identified as the hub gene within the signature. CAV1 inhibits the proliferation and induces the apoptosis as well as senescence of CRC cells. In addition, the tumor angiogenesis of CRC can be suppressed by CAV1 overexpression. CONCLUSIONS: The STAT signaling-related signature effectively predicts the prognosis and regulates tumor immune microenvironment in CRC. Our study underscores the role of STAT regulator, CAV1, as an important tumor suppressor in CRC carcinogenesis. Modulating STAT and its regulators could be a promising strategy for CRC in clinical practice.

[The Museum of Western Studies on Chinese Medicine:Chinese medicine in the western societies].

The historical artifacts displayed in the Museum of Western study on Chinese Medicine at Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine came from a variety of Chinese medical schools in America and European countries. They are in the memorial galleries for some well-known figures, such as George Soulié de Morant (Su Lie), Jacques-André Lavier (La Wei Ai), Felix Mann (Man Fu Li) and Manfred Porkert (Man Xi Bo), representing the development and status of respective Chinese medical schools in America and European countries. The displayed artifacts are nearly 3,000 photos, manuscripts, documents and more than 500 hours of audiovisual materials, including instruments for acupuncture and moxibustion, books, passports, letters and even supplies for their life. The displayed artifacts demonstrate the process and the access of people in the western societies to know, learn and take use of Chinese medicine.

[Gonadal neoplastic related lesions in children with disorders of sexual development: a clinicopathological study of twelve cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features of gonadal neoplastic related lesions in children with disorders of sexual development (DsD). Methods: The clinical manifestations, chromosomal karyotype, histology and immunophenotype of 12 cases of neoplastic related lesions from Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou were analyzed during Jan 2015 to May 2020. Results: Twelve cases of neoplastic related lesions were screened in 205 cases of DsD, and 6 patients with gonadal germ cell neoplasia aged 3-13 years with an average age of 8.3 years. There were 2 males and 4 females. Clinical features showed malformation of external genitalia in 2 cases, short stature in 2 cases, clitoral enlargement in 1 case, lower abdominal pain and a huge pelvic mass in 1 case. Chromosomal karyotyping of peripheral blood showed 2 cases of 46XY and 4 cases of 45X/46XY. Fourteen gonadal specimens were examined. Microscopically, 1 case showed dysgerminoma in left ovary, and malignant mixed germ cell tumors in right ovary, as well as gonadoblastoma (GB) and undifferentiated gonadal tissue (UGT). The remaining 5 cases were all precursor lesions of germ cell tumor. Six specimens showed GB, 3 of UGT, and 3 specimens showed germ cell neoplasia in situ (GCNIS), one of which was accompanied by intratubular seminoma and 1 was GB with GCNIS. The other 6 patients with DsD were aged from 8 months to 2 years and 5 months, including 5 males and 1 females. Clinical manifestations showed 5 cases of hypospadias and 1 case of bilateral indirect inguinal hernia. Microscopically, 6 cases showed maturation delay of gonocytes in seminiferous tubules. Immunohistochemically, the primordial germ cells/gonocytes expressed OCT3/4, PLAP and c-KIT in the 12 cases. Conclusion: Gonadal neoplasia in children with DsD is mainly precursor lesions of germ cell tumor and improved understanding of these lesions is of great significance.

How similar is "similar," or what is the best measure of soil spectral and physiochemical similarity?

Spectral similarity indices were used to select similar soil samples from a spectral library and improve the predictive accuracy of target samples. There are many similarity indices available, and precisely how to select the optimum index has become a critical question. Five similarity indices were evaluated: Spectral angle mapper (SAM), Euclidean distance (ED), Mahalanobis distance (MD), SAM_pca and ED_pca in the space of principal components applied to a global soil spectral library. The accordance between spectral and compositional similarity was used to select the optimum index. Then the optimum index was evaluated if it can maintain the greatest predictive accuracy when selecting similar samples from a spectral library for the prediction of a target sample using a partial least squares regression (PLSR) model. The evaluated physiochemical properties were: soil organic carbon, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), clay, silt, and sand content. SAM and SAM_pca selected samples were closer in composition compared to the target samples. Based on similar samples selected using these two indices, PLSR models achieved the highest predictive accuracy for all soil properties, save for CEC. This validates the hypothesis that the accordance information between spectral and compositional similarity can help select the appropriate similarity index when selecting similar samples from a spectral library for prediction.

miR-143-3p inhibits proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating its target gene FGF1.

PURPOSE: To explore FGF1 and miR-143-3p expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and its related mechanisms. METHODS: Eighty-two HCC patients treated at our hospital from January 2018 to January 2019 were enrolled as Group A, while further 80 healthy people undergoing physical examinations during the same time period were enrolled as Group B. HCC cells and normal human liver cells were purchased, with HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells transfected with pcDNA3.1-FGF1, si-FGF1, NC, miR-143-3p-inhibitor and miR-143-3p-mimics. FGF1 and miR-143-3p expression was detected by qRT-PCR. The expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, Snail, Slug, E-cadherin and γ-catenin was detected by Western Blotting (WB). Cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. Cell invasion was detected by Transwell. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry (FCM). RESULTS: FGF1 was highly expressed but miR-143-3p was poorly expressed in HCC cells. Areas under the curves (AUCs) of the two indicators were > 0.8. The indicators were correlated with the age, gender, tumor invasion, degree of differentiation, tumor location and TNM staging of the patients. Silencing FGF1 and overexpressing miR-143-3p could promote cell apoptosis, inhibit cell growth, cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, Snail and Slug, and increase the expression of E-cadherin and γ-catenin. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay (DLRGA) confirmed that FGF1 and miR-143-3p had a targeted relationship. The rescue experiment showed that the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells in the miR-143-3p-mimics+pcDNA3.1-FGF1 and miR-143-3p-inhibitor+Si-FGF1 groups were not different from those in the miR-NC group. CONCLUSION: Inhibiting FGF1 can upregulate miR-143-3p-mediated Hedgehog signaling pathway, and affect cells' EMT, proliferation and invasion, so FGF1 is expected to become a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

Forensic soil source identification: comparing matching by color, vis-NIR spectroscopy and easily-measured physio-chemical properties.

This study evaluates to what degree soil samples associated in characteristic space are also close in geographical space, i.e., the possible location from which an unknown sample was obtained in a forensic investigation. The study compares similarity computed from Munsell colors, RGB colors, and full visible-near infrared (vis-NIR) spectra by the spectral angle mapper with similarity based on six easily-measured physio-chemical properties. The reference area is Anhui Province, China with three scales of datasets: provincial, county, and field. Ten diverse "unknown" samples were selected by the Kennard-Stone algorithm from the field-scale dataset and their matches in characteristic space from the several datasets were found by the different methods. The geographic distances of the matches to the "unknowns" were used to evaluate the source identification ability. When a detailed library with local samples is present, a limited set of physio-chemical properties achieved higher geographic accuracy than the color and spectral methods. However, with a regional library the spectral and color methods are superior. Distances in RGB space reveal finer differences than exact matching in Munsell space, but whole-spectra matching outperforms both, because of the rich information influenced by more soil properties than influencing color. We recommend the use of soil vis-NIR spectra as a priority indicator for forensic soil analysis because of its success in this study and its ability to work non-destructively on small quantities of soil.

Three-dimensional viscous Rayleigh-Taylor instability at the cylindrical interface.

In this paper, the rotational part of the disturbance flow field caused by viscous Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) at the cylindrical interface is considered, and the most unstable mode is revealed to be three-dimensional for interfaces of small radii R. With an increase in R, the azimuthal wave number of the most unstable mode increases step by step, and the corresponding axial wave number increases as well at each step of the azimuthal wave number. When the amplitude of the wave-number vector is much larger or much smaller than 1/R, the cylindrical RTI is close to the semi-infinite planar viscous RTI limit or the finite-thickness creeping-flow RTI limit, respectively. The effect of the viscosity ratio is double-edged; it may enhance or suppress the cylindrical RTI, depending on R and the amplitude range of the wave-number vector.

CT metal artifact reduction algorithms: Toward a framework for objective performance assessment.

PURPOSE: Although several metal artifact reduction (MAR) algorithms for computed tomography (CT) scanning are commercially available, no quantitative, rigorous, and reproducible method exists for assessing their performance. The lack of assessment methods poses a challenge to regulators, consumers, and industry. We explored a phantom-based framework for assessing an important aspect of MAR performance: how applying MAR in the presence of metal affects model observer performance at a low-contrast detectability (LCD) task This work is, to our knowledge, the first model observer-based framework for the evaluation of MAR algorithms in the published literature. METHODS: We designed a numerical head phantom with metal implants. In order to incorporate an element of randomness, the phantom included a rotatable inset with an inhomogeneous background. We generated simulated projection data for the phantom. We applied two variants of a simple MAR algorithm, sinogram inpainting, to the projection data, that we reconstructed using filtered backprojection. To assess how MAR affected observer performance, we examined the detectability of a signal at the center of a region of interest (ROI) by a channelized Hotelling observer (CHO). As a figure of merit, we used the area under the ROC curve (AUC). RESULTS: We used simulation to test our framework on two variants of the MAR technique of sinogram inpainting. We found that our method was able to resolve the difference in two different MAR algorithms' effect on LCD task performance, as well as the difference in task performances when MAR was applied, vs not. CONCLUSION: We laid out a phantom-based framework for objective assessment of how MAR impacts low-contrast detectability, that we tested on two MAR algorithms. Our results demonstrate the importance of testing MAR performance over a range of object and imaging parameters, since applying MAR does not always improve the quality of an image for a given diagnostic task. Our framework is an initial step toward developing a more comprehensive objective assessment method for MAR, which would require developing additional phantoms and methods specific to various clinical applications of MAR, and increasing study efficiency.

Irisin ameliorates bone loss in ovariectomized mice.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of irisin on bones of ovariectomized (OVX) mice, to explore a possible treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis.Methods: The OVX mice were treated with intraperitoneal injections of recombinant irisin (r-irisin) or saline twice a week for 5 weeks. The trabecular bone structure of the femur, the bone strength of the tibia, and serum parameters were assessed.Results: Treatment with r-irisin prevented the trabecular bone loss of the OVX mice. The r-irisin-treated OVX mice exhibited a greater bone microarchitecture, with significantly increased bone mineral density, bone volume to tissue volume ratio, connection density, and trabecular number parameters compared to those of the saline-treated OVX mice. The improved bone microarchitecture induced an increased bone stiffness in r-irisin-treated OVX mice. Consistently, the OVX mice treated with r-irisin showed a significantly increased number of osteoblasts on the trabecular surface and a significantly decreased number of osteoclasts. The r-irisin-treated OVX mice also had a higher osteocalcin level and a lower tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase concentration in serum.Conclusion: Irisin increases osteoblasts and decreases the number of osteoclasts, which leads to the maintenance of bone mass and quality in OVX mice. Irisin likely preserves the bone microarchitecture via building a 'new balance'. Therefore, our study extended the understanding of the role of irisin in bone metabolism and revealed the possibility of therapeutic application of irisin for postmenopausal osteoporosis.